


Rising to the Challenge

by Kelkat9



Series: Dark Journeys [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Dark Doctor (Doctor Who), F/M, Swearing, Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:51:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6071161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelkat9/pseuds/Kelkat9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor is teetering on the edge and each moment he leans further into the Darkness.  When he realizes Rose is back, his universe spins between guilt and finding everything he desires.  But first he must solve a temporal mystery and face the possibility that old enemies may be manipulating both of them.  Not that he'll allow anyone or thing to get in his way of reuniting with Rose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rising to the Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of my Dark Journeys Series - This is Dark Ten's POV. The third one will be more crack which is alluded to at the end of this story. Thank you so much for reading :)

Irony, the Doctor mused, that was what the cold silence of the universe was. Despite being filled with burning stars, warm blooded bodies and other phenomena exploding in flames and fire, it remained a frigid and unforgiving place. 

Some saw the universe as infinite, a representation of cosmic beauty and purity. It was easy for lesser species. Their imaginations were filled with creative mythology and a desire to see beauty in everything – especially the universe. He knew beauty and its loss all too well. And he knew the universe for what it was – brutal and unfair. It was unappreciative of anyone who worked diligently to preserve it and its inhabitants.

The injustice stuck in him like a thorn embedded in his skin. The universe was like time. It took and took from him, greedily sucking the life and hope from his body feeding its own perverted need. And what did he get for it? Nothing but pain. 

He slammed open the TARDIS door, pausing on the barren, black sand planet. The wind whirled dust devils amongst the cracks in the surface oozing volcanic gas. Amidst the arid, inhospitable environment, he swore he caught a familiar floral scent. But that was impossible. Not here. And certainly not that scent. He’d never know that sweet fragrance again; unless a certain plan came to fruition. 

Yet it was odd as that scent, _her_ scent, seemed to haunt him. Everywhere he went it was like the impossible hovered near him. Lilacs mixed with Venusian jasmine seemed to wrap around his olfactory senses at the oddest times. At first, he’d thought it was Donna and earned a smack when he leaned in to sniff her hair. He winced and rubbed his shoulder.

And then there was that itch on the back of his neck prickling through to his time sense. It wasn’t there all the time. But when it was, he hesitated no matter what he was doing. That hesitation was dangerous. One day it would cause his regeneration. Not that he cared about that. Let him regenerate and end this body’s constant yearning for what he couldn’t have.

A lump formed in his throat. No, if he did that then he lost that last bit of connection to _her_. This face and body was created as a result of her influence. _She_ made had him better. And what had that wrought? An evil voice snickered. With a growl he stormed forward his trainers crunching through the rocks and sand. 

Better – he was no better. He was tired and jaded now that he’d lost her; and he was much better at hiding what he really wanted to do – rage at the universe. The only thing holding him back from oblivion was Donna. An image of her smile and ginger hair caused his pace to slow. He exhaled and looked up at the white star heating this world. Donna was all the good left in his life. Maybe she was too good for the likes of him. He should give her a good shove toward the destiny she deserved instead of being the keeper of a self-absorbed prat like him.

But he couldn’t. He was too afraid of what he’d become on his own. He grasped at the ideals of the life he once led by the barest of threads; woven by a certain blonde with powers of a time goddess. He often wondered if it was her work making sure he crossed paths with Martha and Donna. The sun shining on this planet was nothing compared to the brilliant light that burned through her and across the universe as she saturated it with her essence. 

But she wasn’t here -- that evil inner voice reminded him. She’d left him and was living the perfect life in another universe, probably married and…. No. He couldn’t finish that thought. It eviscerated him in the most primal sense. Oh he wanted her happy but selfishly he wanted her happy with him. That’s what she had done to him. She made him live and feel and want a future with her. And now all he had was this seething pit of darkness that needed to lash out. After all, why should he suffer alone?

His mind turned to snails. Another version of himself would have shouted or ridiculed him at his perverse and vindictive plans. He’d have reminded himself of rules and Time Lord ethics in an attempt to layer on the guilt. But he’d already suffered enough of that after the Time War. This was about what he wanted and needed right here, right now.

It was wrong. That thought pounded through him, worming its way through is mind as he found the forbearers of those that insulted and ridiculed him with their slimy secretions. Already, he felt temporal repercussions of thousands of lives screaming through time as he ended generations of them. Each smash and crunch of his trainers against helpless and innocent molluscs did nothing to deter him.

In the end, it wasn’t even about them. They were nothing, insignificant to his bigger plan. This was about testing the limits of what he could do. He was a Time Lord and time was his to command. He’d been toying with little changes here and there to see how far he could push things before time snapped back at him. 

He wasn’t afraid of reapers. The arrogant and slightly mad part of himself felt confident he could manipulate the time lines to avoid that particular catastrophe. A deeper, more sinister plan stewed in that place where there were no lines that must never be crossed; where rules were a mere suggestion and he scoffed at laws mandated by his now dead people.

Each time he succeeded with another test, he proved himself lord and master of time. And he reached one step closer to achieving a goal beating in the blackest part of his heart. He could make sure he never lost _her_. His eyes fluttered shut and his pulse raced at this thought. She was the Bad Wolf. She survived the time vortex thrumming through her mind with little help from him. Time swirled through her in unusual ways and he could use that to bind their destinies.

His hands shook as the destruction of the snails reverberated through thousands of time lines. A smirk lit his face. Oh but he was good. And then time waves crashed into him like a tsunami. Face planting into the hot sand now mixed with crushed snails, his breath hissed out. A twisting and wrenching pain coursed through him and his respiratory bypass kicked when he couldn’t suck in any air.

Rolling over, he fought through the splitting headache to regulate the pain and regain control of his body. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” He righted himself, fingers digging into his temples and scalp and stumbled back toward the TARDIS. 

Through squinted eyes, he paid no mind to anything else except the blue box of his salvation and attempted to determine the damage from the severe time waves wreaking havoc on him.

But something did catch his attention as the door shut behind him. A voice whispered in his mind. “Serves him right…wanker.” 

The tone and inflection was familiar. A cascade of memories, scents and prickling feelings of being observed and sometimes thinking he glimpsed a flash of blonde hair exploded into a realization. He was thick! All his tinkering and poking was working!

He stepped back out, gritting his teeth against the pain of time waves crashing into him and scanned the area looking for something out of place. Time stilled around him as his sight lit on the one impossible creature that could take his breath away.

“Rose Tyler.” The words slipped past his lips with yearning and reignited an ebbing flame of hope.

She was here. But was she really? His initial joy was tempered by the thought something was off. How could she be here? Yes, he’d been manipulating time but that was testing a theory. He hadn’t yet formulated the necessary alterations to her rather complicated time line. And the universal walls were still locked. That was a fact even he couldn’t change. And if he couldn’t find a secure way through those walls, no one could. 

Yet she stood a few meters away, eyes wide and damp with emotion. Soft pink lips parted in shock. And he was immersed in her sweet scent triggering memories of hugs and a soft, curved warm body pressed against his. The burst of emotion distracted his efforts to contain the pain carving a path this aching skull. 

He squeezed one eye shut in his battle against the throbbing ache. And again wondered if this could be _his_ Rose. Anger flushed his skin at the thought of an imposter. But then his mind cleared. His keen senses tingled with the way time flowed through her in ripples and eddies. It swirled around her in a display like fish playing in a pond. Only the pond was really a temporal conundrum; and she more of siren or a mermaid. No wait, he’d met some dodgy mermaids and they were a bit more scaly and carnivorous of the sailor eating variety. 

No, Rose was a warm compassionate human or humanish. That realization snapped against his time sense. The essence of her pulsed before him like a pink and yellow beacon. But it was different now, more complex and provocative in the way that its beat tantalized him. And she was there in the flesh on this planet he had come to… Oh. 

He swallowed hard, his eyes widening. A cackling voice of guilt at what he’d done or would have done caused an annoying stabbing pain in his chest. He swept it aside. Rose was there nothing else mattered. Other than maybe her presence forced him to think about his actions. 

Her breath hitched and she pressed fingers into her temples, her nose wrinkling in a way that warmed him but also left him concerned. He could tell by the way she paled and the slightly elevated rhythm of her heart she was in pain. Was she feeling the time waves? 

Thrusting aside his own pounding headache, he made up his mind. To hell with everything. He was scooping her up in his arms, buffering her from any pain and doing what he should have done a long time ago. And then his universe went pear shaped as tears slicked her face and she choked out “I’m sorry. It’s not time yet.” She disappeared in a flash of light just out of his grasp.

Pain from time waves was nothing compared to the soul crushing anguish that wracked his body. A burning rage consumed him until he almost burst into flames of regeneration. 

“No!” he howled up at the white hot sun above him.

Hands clenching and unclenching he grabbed his sonic and activated a setting to reverse transports and bring her back. When it failed to work he slammed it into the sand. A growl vibrated his chest as trainers smashed and stomped the slender, metallic device until it crushed into the black sand in silver pieces. With his hair a wild, tousled mess and eyes black as the sand around him, he fell to his knees scooping up the remains of his sonic. The double beat of his hearts eased as he tamped down his frustration on losing her again.

“Why?” he asked. “Why do you fuck with me like this?” he demanded of the universe.

Blood trickled out of his nose. With a growling moan he wiped it on his sleeve and clambered up, the remains of the sonic pocketed.

A scowl set on his face and he hissed out a breath at the physical effects of the time waves. Fuming at the universe, he stormed back to the TARDIS.

His face relaxed at the blessed protection inside his ship. With a sniff he circled the console thinking hundreds of thoughts at once about how Rose was there; what had happened to her; why did she run from him; and what caused the time waves in the first place. He needed answers. He smashed a few controls a little more vigorously than necessary and the TARDIS responded.

An electric charge arced across the control panel. He hissed and jumped away as sparks singed his fingers.

“Fine! I get it. You’re annoyed with me.” He sucked as his fingers and glared at a flashing light on the console. It was near the temporal refractor toggle. “Oh,” he said, removing his finger with a pop. He walked to the monitor and tapped out a few commands. His teeth clicked as his jaw clenched. 

A new ache formed between his eyes. The temporal wave wasn’t a by-product or result of his actions. It wasn’t a natural phenomenon at all; and he directed a speculative and condemning look at the time rotor.

“She was here.” A deep growl of frustration turned into a Time Lord tantrum as he grabbed a mug and hurled it across the console room. He spun around with fingers tearing at his head before storming up to the control panel, his hands slapping against the coral structure.

“She was here helping you do what exactly? Stop me from my tests? Is that it? You brought her here to stop me and then what? You just let her leave?” His voice was a mix of anguish and shaking rage.

“That’s just completely--” He shoved off the console and paced before whirling around with all the outrage of the oncoming storm darkening his expression. “You want her back as much as me! Don’t pretend you don’t. You know what she is to us!”

The TARDIS hummed in its mechanical tone ignoring his rage. He collapsed onto the jump seat staring forward thinking back over everything that happened since he landed on this planet. Rose had been here watching him. And she’d been on the TARDIS. The TARDIS acted like Rose’s appearance was normal, not a universe shattering event. Rose wasn’t the same. He’d recognized that in just the few minutes he’d seen her. Time eddied around her like she was…”

“Ohhhh,” he drew out, gaze alighting on the time rotor. “You know about her.” His voice was soft and breathy as he slid off the seat and stepped forward. “You’ve known for some time, haven’t you?” 

He trailed his fingers over the cool, smooth edge of the console and stared down past the grating toward the blue glow of circuitry beneath. “You’ve known since the beginning.” He swallowed hard before lifting his gaze. “But you’re not telling me because you can’t. This is part of something bigger – an event in my future personal time line.”

The TARDIS was a complex temporal creature existing in vast and ever changing temporal planes amongst, the what was, is and could be events. A TARDIS didn’t think in linear terms or in terms of corporeal beings. His ship would not cause a paradox unless he forced the issue. That was, after all, part of his plan before he found Rose. But now, he hesitated. Something was coming and it involved Rose. He stilled and stared into the slowly pulsing time rotor.

“No,” His voice was gruff and he tipped his chin up arrogantly, eyes dark with conviction. “I won’t just stand by and wait. Someone or thing is toying with us, me and Rose. And I’m done playing the pawn.”

In a whirlwind of brown pinstripes and white trainers slapping the grating, he set a course to follow the dissipating trail left behind by Rose’s vortex manipulator. In a journey even more jarring and rough than normal, he gritted his teeth hanging on to the console while the cloister bells pealed their warning. They landed with a crash hurtling him across the room.

“Fuck!” He sat up and rubbed the side of his head where it connected with the metal railing. Muscles groaning, he sprang back to the monitor to see where he landed.

“Cardiff. Figures,” he snorted. Pausing only to run a hand through his hair and straighten his tie, he stepped out onto the Plass. The silver monolith water feature trickled under the bright sun. He tried not to allow the memories of his last visit there with Rose overwhelm his purpose. He reached for his sonic. Cursing, he spent exactly five seconds grumbling at himself. “Fuck it, I don’t need it.” He stormed ahead and opened his temporal and telepathic senses. If Rose was nearby, he’d find her.

It should have been easy. But after fifteen minutes of storming around Cardiff Bay chasing after wisps of temporal residue, he realized something else here was wreaking havoc with his senses. Actually, it was a someone. By the grating sensation driving chills up his spine, that someone was nearby. With a sigh, he walked into the darkened interior of a historic pub. The scent of old wood and beer didn’t distract him from the man in the navy RAF coat in the back corner booth.

“Thought you’d be by,” Jack said and picked up a shot glass filled with amber liquid and downed it. “Rose Tyler drops in…well tumbles into me amidst a little weevil problem and I know you’re not far behind.”

“Where’s Rose?” The Doctor demanded without a hint of warmth or charm.

“Hey,” Jack warned and narrowed his eyes. “Might be nice to ask how I’m doing – you know – Hey Jack. How’s it going? Run into any problems lately? Like my lost honey who’s being tossed through time to clean up any messes I might leave behind?”

“Jack,” he drew his name out and slid into the booth. “Rose is in trouble. Something is wrong.”

“Yeah, got the whole story from her. Times in a bit of mess. But then I think you know that don’t you?” He inflected his words with condemnation.

“All I know is Rose is in this universe and shouldn’t be. It’s impossible but she’s here and in trouble. Something is keeping her--”

“From you? Yeah, I wonder why?” Jack drawled sarcastically. “Maybe it has to do with what you’ve been doing playing around with potential paradoxes. Or maybe it’s what happened to her on the Game Station?” Jack’s tone was clipped. A waitress delivered another shot. He nodded and winked at her before focusing on the Doctor.

“The Game Station?” The Doctor’s brow furrowed. “No, that’s impossible. I told you, I took the vortex out of her. She was fine.”

“Clearly she wasn’t,” Jack said with a snort and downed another shot of whiskey. As the glass banged onto the table, he levelled a questioning look at the Doctor. “What I want to know is if I feel so off to you, why didn’t you know about her? She says she knows things she shouldn’t; and she’s got this killer immune system along with cellular regeneration that’s off the charts. She figured it out in the other universe and thinks it’s the only way she survived an unprotected trip through the void.”

A pulsing pain throbbed at his temples and he slumped forward until his elbows thumped onto the wooden table. 

“An unprotected trip through the void?” His teeth were on edge and his stomach twisted at the thought of what that could have done to her.

“Oh, you know our Rose. She’s not exactly the quiet type. Looks like she pissed off a few deities. They weren’t too keen having a trans-universal temporal being messing up their universe. They threw her across the void with just the clothes on her back. She’s been bouncing around this universe and cleaning up after you ever since. She deserves better.”

“Of course she does!” The Doctor growled. Jack waved at the waitress who set several filled shot glasses between them. Alcohol was easy to metabolize. But the Doctor was tempted to allow it free reign and wallow in drunken oblivion. It was easier than facing the possibility that he’d missed something at the game station and his tests may have affected Rose and not in the fun snogging and reuniting way. Once again, the universe had fucked him over. The tingle of whiskey burning down his throat didn’t alleviate the guilt.

“What deities? Where is she? And why’d she come here? Why couldn’t she tell me this?” His voice was thready but ended with a bite as he reached for another shot.

“She couldn’t tell you and I think you saw first-hand what being around you does to her. She thinks it’s something about time lines being off. It’s not easy for her. She’s hurting and not just from a temporal headache. Every move she makes parallels you. Look but don’t touch. Fix the mess and move on. That’s her life. And no, she doesn’t know why. As for how she got here, well guess time decided she needed a friend.”

Jack held up the shot glass watching the liquid slosh before downing it.

“The big question is what are you gonna do?”

“Save her.” The words were spoken without thought. And the Doctor meant them. No matter what he had to do, he would free her from the temporal restraints restricting her movements. 

“How?” Jack asked.

The Doctor’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he scowled and reached for another whiskey. 

“I’ll figure it out after I catch up with her. Speaking of which – now that we’ve wasted time blogging, I’d like to know where she is.”

“Now there’s a Doctor I recognize. Haven’t heard that tone out of you since you wore leather.” Jack sat back with a twinkle in his eyes. “But finding her may not be so easy. She was here for a short while yesterday before Cardiff got a little stranger than normal.”

“What do you mean?” The Doctor asked, alert and feeling his skin prickle.

“In a flash of light and blast of trumpets, two red haired foxes, and I mean actual fluffy animal variety, appeared wearing green tunics. They bowed to Rose. And then it gets weird.”

The Doctor had a sinking feeling in his gut. Nothing good ever came from tunic wearing foxes.

“They prayed that Lady Rose forgive their unseemly arrival but her gracious presence was required at the Tournament of Hecuba; and all challengers should take notice. Before Rose could get a word out, she and the foxes disappeared.”

“Hecuba,” the Doctor groaned and scrubbed at his face. “You’re sure they used that word?”

“I have a video if you want.” Jack held up his mobile.

“No, I know what this is,” He spit out and grabbed another shot. He tossed the contents down and banged the glass on the table. “This is about petty, bored arsehole guardians who conveniently disappeared during the war. Now they’re back and think they can manipulate me using Rose.”

He slid out of the booth jumping to his feet and paced back in forth in front of Jack, his shoulders thrown back and face flushed.

“Well they pissed on me one too many times! They wanted my attention well they have it. Challenge accepted!” he shouted and shook his fist in the air.


End file.
